Shentai Network Files IPO Prospectus: Leveraging AI and Blockchain to Bring Nephrologists into Patients’ Homes

Chronic kidney disease (CKD), known as the “silent killer,” is truly chilling.

According to statistics from the Chinese Medical Association, the prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in China is 10.8% of the total population. Based on this estimate, there are no fewer than 120 million CKD patients in China, with 750,000 dialysis patients registered. Chronic kidney disease has become a major public health issue in China.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is the result of long-term, progressive deterioration of renal function. Its characteristics can be succinctly described as “three highs and three lows”: high incidence rate, high prevalence of comorbid cardiovascular disease, and high mortality rate; low public awareness of CKD, low rates of prevention and treatment, and low awareness of comorbid cardiovascular disease.

Chronic diseases resemble a tug-of-war between patients and their conditions. If patients can detect hidden symptoms before the disease fully manifests, they may nip it in the bud and gain an early advantage. Post-diagnosis, refined management and consistent, effective follow-up care can effectively prevent disease recurrence.

Shentai Network Health Technology (Nanjing) Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Shentai Network”) is a service provider specializing in health management for chronic kidney disease (CKD). Committed to full-cycle management of CKD, the company offers AI-based solutions for early screening and risk prediction of CKD, a mobile internet-based platform for full-cycle CKD management, an IoT cloud service-based platform for kidney health management, and a big data and AI-driven platform for kidney data analysis.

Shentai Network was established in June 2016, marking Li Haiyuan’s second entrepreneurial venture.

In 2001, Li Haiyuan founded Nanjing Haitai Medical Information System Co., Ltd., developing it into a leading domestic vendor of electronic medical records (EMR). Sixteen years later, riding the wave of the internet, Li Haiyuan established Shentai.com, which focuses on full-cycle management of kidney diseases across pre-diagnosis, intra-diagnosis, and post-diagnosis stages.

The Shentai Network team consists of three components: a team of senior clinical experts in kidney diseases; a technical development team with medical backgrounds; and a team of experts in artificial intelligence and blockchain technology. Additionally, Shentai Network has established research and training collaborations with multiple universities, including Nanjing University, Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications, and Nanjing Medical University. Notably, Shentai Network has been recognized by the relevant government authorities in Nanjing as a high-tech enterprise specializing in artificial intelligence, garnering societal acknowledgment for its AI technologies and products.

With nearly two decades of industry experience, Li Haiyuan has become thoroughly proficient in the medical services and operational models of hospitals. During this period, he also identified significant market pain points in the field of nephrology.

According to statistics from the Chinese Medical Association, China currently faces a severe shortage of nephrology specialists, resulting in a significant imbalance in the doctor-to-patient ratio. While patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) account for 10.8% of the total population, the number of nephrologists represents only one per 10,000 CKD patients. This disparity makes it difficult for patients to engage in follow-up consultations, treatment, and management with their attending physicians after discharge. The lack of post-discharge management also reduces treatment adherence, leading to disease progression.

Furthermore, hospitals and physicians with advanced diagnostic and therapeutic capabilities are currently concentrated in a scattered, point-like distribution across the Beijing-Tianjin region, the Yangtze River Delta, and the Guangzhou-centric area of South China. This uneven geographical distribution of medical resources has widened the management gap in doctor-patient communication. A sharp contradiction exists between the limited medical capabilities in remote areas and the public’s strong demand for diagnosis and treatment.

For the aforementioned reasons, long-term follow-up management is an essential component of patient treatment. Therefore, Kidney Disease Network is committed to employing a novel platform-based management model to assist patients with chronic conditions such as chronic kidney disease (CKD) in achieving full-cycle disease management.

ShenTai Network’s business covers all stages of disease progression in patients with kidney diseases. The application of artificial intelligence and blockchain technology is a defining feature of ShenTai Network’s products.

Artificial intelligence technologies are primarily applied in early screening, mid-stage health treatment, and subsequent phases such as patient follow-up, adjunctive therapy, and clinicians’ disease-specific clinical research. Blockchain technology has also expanded from data protection to include internet platform-based traceability and prescription management.

Currently, Shentai Network operates three major platforms: an AI-powered platform for early screening and risk prediction of chronic kidney disease; a B2B application service platform based on the SaaS model; and an internet-based platform for closed-loop management of chronic kidney disease.

This platform includes a big data analytics platform for chronic kidney disease and artificial intelligence applications in nephrology.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is classified into five stages and is highly asymptomatic in its early phases. Most patients are diagnosed only after the disease has progressed beyond stage 3, by which time it has often evolved into irreversible chronic renal failure. Once this stage is reached, patients require hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis to sustain life. In China, approximately 2 million people need hemodialysis treatment each year, yet only about 700,000 patients actually receive dialysis.

The prohibitive cost of dialysis has deterred over one million patients. Furthermore, kidney disease, as a high-cost condition, accounts for a significant proportion of national medical insurance expenditures. From this perspective, if patients can receive early screening, assessment, intervention, and health management, the progression of the disease can be effectively prevented. This would not only alleviate patient suffering but also reduce the financial burden on the medical insurance system.

“Most patients are already in the end-stage of the disease at the time of diagnosis, making early screening and management particularly crucial,” said Lu Kaidong. “From the perspective of national health management, the application of artificial intelligence technology in the early screening of chronic kidney disease is highly significant.”

The Big Data Analytics Platform is a cloud-based data center for chronic kidney disease (CKD). Shentai Network leverages big data and artificial intelligence technologies, covering nine business areas including precision medicine, clinical research, new drug development, and medical insurance. The intelligent CKD application employs AI algorithms to create a closed-loop service chain for CKD patient management centered on artificial intelligence. From the collection of specialized nephrology medical records to the machine-driven standardization of these records, and further to the construction of a nephrology-specific knowledge graph based on databases, Shentai Network focuses on full-cycle management of chronic kidney disease.

This platform is designed for medical institutions at all levels and government regulatory authorities, comprising the Cloud Hemodialysis Management Platform, Hemodialysis Quality Control Management Platform, Cloud Ethics Review Management Platform, Chronic Kidney Disease Tiered Diagnosis and Treatment Management Platform, and Chronic Kidney Disease Follow-up Management Platform.

Traditional electronic medical records (EMR) and Hospital Information Systems (HIS) are enterprise-side applications, primarily implemented on a project-by-project basis. Future health informatics development will undoubtedly be based on Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) management service platforms. In this context, the national initiative to strengthen the three-tier diagnosis and treatment system, such as establishing Medical Consortia, effectively creates cross-regional platforms. For example, if a Medical Consortium comprising dozens of hospitals needs to deploy information systems, health IT companies can adopt a model where a single platform covers the entire consortium. This approach ensures uniformity and quality in system implementation, as well as the centralized release of subsequent data standards, implementation standards, and clinical care standards.

Take dialysis, a critical component of kidney disease treatment, as an example. Among the 2 million patients requiring dialysis, only 700,000 can afford the treatment costs. The remaining over one million patients seek alternative means to sustain their lives. Consequently, opportunities have emerged for private dialysis centers. However, while this has alleviated market pressure, it has also given rise to challenges in dialysis quality management.

ShenTaiNet is a SaaS-based cloud management system for hemodialysis, serving as an innovative centralized platform for unified multi-regional and multi-chain operations. It enables standardized quality control across chain dialysis centers and establishes uniform management standards and protocols.

This platform is the Chronic Kidney Disease Full-Cycle Service Platform.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a condition characterized by a prolonged diagnostic and therapeutic course; it is incurable but not immediately life-threatening. Furthermore, CKD is often associated with comorbidities and can be precipitated by certain underlying conditions. Diabetes mellitus and hypertension are the most common causes inducing CKD, accelerating the progression of renal disease and ultimately leading to kidney failure.

Fortunately, if patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) receive adequate treatment and long-term follow-up management, their condition can be effectively controlled. However, there is a significant gap between limited hospital resources and the substantial demand from patients. Long-term disease management cannot be implemented solely within hospitals, and relying exclusively on in-hospital care makes it difficult to provide patients with high-quality, continuous health management services.

Lu Kaidong introduced that the full-cycle service platform for chronic kidney disease (CKD) primarily addresses issues such as communication between patients and physicians outside the hospital setting, as well as long-term home-based health management. The diagnosis and treatment course of CKD is protracted, potentially spanning several years or even lasting a lifetime. Furthermore, patients with this condition have exceptionally high demands for pharmaceuticals and medical services. “However, the duration of in-hospital treatment for kidney disease is relatively short, accounting for only 5% of the total treatment time. More than 90% of the time is spent on self-management and health management outside the hospital.”

During out-of-hospital treatment, patients must strictly adhere to medical advice and implement refined disease management. At this stage, internet platforms can help physicians extend follow-up care and medical instructions into the home setting, covering areas such as peritoneal dialysis management, home-based health management, and home prescription management, as well as enabling dynamic monitoring of patient status, doctor-patient communication, and medication adherence tracking. Furthermore, internet platforms can comprehensively integrate patients’ diagnostic, therapeutic, and health management data from both in-hospital and out-of-hospital settings, forming a complete data chain that assists physicians in continuously monitoring changes in patients’ conditions.

ShenTaiNet’s next priority is to build a big health data platform centered on chronic kidney disease (CKD) to enable home-based health management. To expand its market scale, ShenTaiNet is considering launching a financing round. Interested institutions should contact the financing assistant, Xiao Yun, at DongMai_Investent.